SISSETON – Sisseton cashed in at the free throw stripe against Aberdeen Roncalli Thursday night.

The Redmen outscored Roncalli by 17 points at the foul line to grab a 65-60 Northeast Conference boys’ basketball victory. Sisseton shot 23-for-30 from the line, while Roncalli shot 6-for-12.

Roncalli made five more shots from the field, but could not make up the difference from the charity stripe.

“Overall, we shot better from the field and made more shots. Unfortunately, we sent them to the foul line for 30 shots while we only sent ourselves there 12 times,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “We need to clean that aspect up, especially because we had six fouls on the offensive end of the floor, whether that be offensive rebounding fouls or illegal screens.”

The Roncalli offense was kickstarted by Creighton Fisher who put up 10 of the Cavaliers’ 12 points in the first quarter on the way to a game-high 19 points.

“Creighton got off to a great start and is just playing with great confidence. He’s a tough kid that’s willing to do whatever it takes for the team to be successful,” Gallagher said. “He’s finding ways to get great looks and is being incredibly aggressive getting to the basket.”

However, the Cavaliers managed just 23 points in the first half and ended up trailing by 10 points at the break.

“Halftime was about executing better offensively. I would have loved to talk defense, having given up 33 first-half points, but seven of those came off of turnovers and quick transition points, and eight free throws,” Gallagher said. “First half, we really struggled offensively. We had little motion, a lot of waiting for the ball to get to us rather than going to set screens to get guys open.”

The Redmen were also utilizing their stretch five offense to cause problems for the Cavaliers. Brett Hansen led the team with 16 points. Derrick Flute put up 13 on the night.

“Flute was a tough guard,” Gallagher said. “He’s a solid inside player that can shoot really well from the perimeter.”

In the second half, the Cavaliers’ offense found its stride putting up 37 points in the final 16 minutes. Roncalli’s defense also found more of a groove to help compliment the offense.

“In the second half, we started attacking downhill aggressively, setting great screens, and finding shooters,” said Gallagher. “Our defensive intensity picked up big time, and we forced a lot of turnovers.”

Jesse Hernandez scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half after a scoreless opening quarter.

“They made Jesse work for shots. We know it’s going to be tough for him to get clean ones,” Gallagher said, “but he’s a shooter and we’ve got to live with him taking some shots that others might seem as questionable because he’s got that ‘it’ factor.”

Sam Larson added nine points for Roncalli.

The Cavaliers, 2-5 on the season, have a road game at Tiospa Zina on Tuesday, while Sisseton hosts Flandreau Indian.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (2-5): Jesse Hernandez 6 2-3 17, Sam Larson 4 0-0 9, Quinten Shelton 1 2-4 5, Creighton Fisher 8 0-0 19, Bryson Olson 3 0-1 6, Paul Barr 1 2-4 4. Totals 23 6-12 60.

SISSETON (5-3): Levi Nelson 3 0-0 7, Carter Stickland 2 3-4 8, Josh Donnell 2 4-5 9, Brett Hansen 4 8-9 16, Derrick Flute 3 5-8 13, Jackson Wegener 3 3-4 9, Bryant Brown 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 23-30 65

Aberdeen Roncalli 12 23 41 60

Sisseton 19 33 50 65

3-point field goals – Hernandez 3, Larson, Shelton, Fisher 3; Nelson, Stickland, Donnell, Flute 2, Brown. Fouled out – Barr. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 23; Sisseton 15.